Special ResourcesMicrocephaly - Microencephaly

A Selection of Internet Sites

[*] Outstanding
[P] For Professionals

[*] Teaching Files: Microcephaly
Neonatology on the Web Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, California Defined by a head circumference, as measured around the glabella and occipital protuberance, that is more than 2 standard deviations below the mean for age, sex, race, and gestation. Microcephaly is always caused by microencephaly, a small brain, and the two terms are used interchangeably. In the normally Generally been equated with mental retardation Not all children with head circumference less than 2 standard deviations are mentally retarded Twenty-five percent of Hypopituitary dwarfs with normal IQ were microcephalic. Normal intelligence was also measured in 40% of those infants after exposure to the atomic bombs as fetuses ...

[*][P] Microcephaly
Written September 1997 National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke What is Microcephaly Is there any treatment Microcephaly is a rare, neurological disorder in which the circumference of the head is smaller than the average for the age and gender of the infant or child. Microcephaly may be congenital (present at birth) or it may develop in the first few years of life As the child grows older, the smallness of the skull becomes more obvious, although the entire body also is often underweight and dwarfed ...

On-line Microcephaly Support Group
Contacts and Information The term microcephaly simply means "small head". It usually reflects an underlying reduction in the size of the brain. Head size is assessed by measuring the head's maximum circumference (or O.F.C.-Occipito Frontal Circumference). The term microcephaly is used when the head is less than that of 97% to 99% of the population. Microcephaly may be present at birth (congenital) or it may develop in the first few years of life Delay in the child's development which can vary from very mild to profound Cerebral palsy, epilepsy, visual impairment or feeding difficulties. In other cases, there is only minor intellectual impairment. In some children, microcephaly is coupled together with other defects or to another syndrome Autosomal Recessive Microcephaly Two healthy parents are each carriers of a faulty gene Greatly increased if both parents are closely related (e.g. cousins). If both parents carry a faulty recessive gene, the chance of conceiving an affected child is 1 in 4 (25%) ...

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